Blast from the past

[Robert B Saltzman]

Hello Nixie-heads,

 

I was looking through some old files recently and came across an old monthly publication from Burroughs Corporation that some of you might enjoy reading (attached).

 

Immediately after graduating in 1969 from Union College in Schenectady, NY as an EE, I started work at General Electric Research and Development.

 

I was always fascinated with display devices and applications, and subscribed to the “Burroughs Readout” periodical to keep up to date with these technologies.

 

Burroughs was doing long term testing that started in 1958 of B-5031 (8037) Nixie tubes, and ultimately experienced a failure in 1972.

 

They created a contest (“The Nixie That Died”) to see if any reader of “Burroughs Readout” could determine the cause of the failure.

 

I entered it and was one of the top five “winners” – for which I received a prize of four Nixie tubes and decoder-driver ICs, plus a clock schematic (the grand prize winner won an entire Nixie clock that was used for testing).

 

Articles in the attached journal describe the contest and list of winners.

 

You might also enjoy the article entitled “Nixie Tubes Are Here To Stay.”

 

Nostalgia at its best!

 

I retired from GE Global Research in 2014, but still love fooling around with Nixie displays. I built my first B-7971 FLW device in the early seventies after having purchased four tubes for eight bucks from surplus supplier Meshna Electronics in Lynn, MA. If only I had the forethought to have stocked up on B-7971s and IN-18s back then!

 

Regards,

Bob

Niskayuna, NY USA

[Jon]

What a great story - many thanks Bob for sharing both the account and the scan. Material like that disappears all too readily with time, but is so insightful for those of us interested in the history of these tubes as well as the nice orange glow...

Jon.

[Nick]

Really excellent - thanks for that.

If it's ok with you, I'll place a copy of than in the group library...

Cheers

Nick (moderator)

[Robert B Saltzman]

No problem Nick.

I am glad that it will be preserved.

If I come across any other interesting items, I will share them as well. (These are probably in an over-garage attic that is very cold right now - may have to wait until spring!)

Regards,
Bob

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